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Archbishop questions gay motion wording

The Anglican Archbishop of Perth has hinted that he will reject a proposal to recognise same-sex relationships within his diocese.

The Reverend Chris Bedding of the Darlington-Bellevue Anglican parish put forward the resolution to the church's synod last year. It was backed by the synod but vetoed by the Archbishop.

Father Chris put it forward again this year and two-thirds of the synod - both clergy and lay people - voted in favour of a resolution that recognises relationships including marriage.

But Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft must approve the resolution for it to become church policy.

If he continues to oppose it, it will be referred to the Provincial Council of the Province of WA for a final vote.

He has 30 days to consider his response.

The Archbishop is critical of the first part of the resolution - to recognise diversity within the Diocese of Perth, both in terms of sexual identity and theologies of human sexuality - because it is "theologically flawed" and "inappropriate for a governing body to be so general in its wording".

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He said the open-ended recognition of diverse theologies and sexual identities was difficult.

"The Royal Commission has made us more aware of how careful we must be with our actions, our words, and our legislative language," he said.

"There are priests who have used the concept of diversity to justify their abuse of another person."

The Archbishop said the synod's endorsement of the second part of the resolution - a recognition that many within the church supported the right of committed same-sex couples to have a civil union - was fraught with difficulty because civil unions had not been passed by the state government.

He said the same of a third resolution "that legal recognition of committed same-sex relationships may coexist alongside legal recognition of marriage between a man and a woman" because same-sex marriage had not been recognised by federal or state governments.

But he did say gay and lesbian clergy in the Anglican's Perth diocese were honoured, and that gay and lesbian people were warmly welcomed into its churches.